


Settle In, I'm here to Stay

by ilcocoabean



Series: Where We Rule the World [4]
Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst, M/M, Minecraft, Romance, Slash
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-04-01
Updated: 2013-07-26
Packaged: 2017-12-07 04:45:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 20,885
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/744393
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ilcocoabean/pseuds/ilcocoabean
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Achievement City's been pretty quiet since Ray's arrival, so of course, they're due for another visitor.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Achievement City was home and it was all Ray had ever known.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Minecraft AU! So this is a thing I've had written for a while. I was too nervous to post but now I've decided to say fuck it, and post it because, I mean yolo right? I'll post the rest of the tags (for characters) as they become relevant because I am lazy and have class. 
> 
> Also, I've used [buttskun's](http://buttskun.tumblr.com/post/45239539137/lets-play-minecraft) lovely art for clothing/design reference.
> 
> Read @ [LJ](http://sandedletters.livejournal.com/12396.html)

Achievement City was home and it was all Ray had ever known. Well, that wasn't entirely true, even he had to admit that to himself. He remembered, vaguely, living elsewhere but it was like a half remembered story from a childhood friend. For all he knew someone asked him if he came from somewhere and he merely assumed he had. It wasn't as if anyone was asking him now though. Knowing where someone came from guaranteed nothing and distracted from the important question: what can you do?

Any newcomers to the city were often treated with open apprehension until they could prove their worth. Gavin was handy with lava and explosives, Michael could take down any enemy with his trusty sword, Mogar, and Ray was just awesome at everything, if he said so himself. Everyone at Achievement City had a particular thing they were good at, making them useful to the entire city. If they could offer nothing then they were sent away.

“What use are they if they can't help us?” Geoff said, after they ran out each useless stranger, as if he were trying to excuse their ruthless behavior.

It didn't matter much; they all agreed it was fair. Even Jack, normally the most accepting of strangers, would pick up a sword to drive out anyone who couldn't prove themselves. It was how they survived for this long.

**. . .**

“I'm putting torches around this ditch lads,” Gavin said. “It's a long drop. Don't want anyone dying now do we?”

Rolling his eyes, Ray continued to mine the coal he found. Trust Gavin to bring up ancient history. It'd been close to a year since anyone had died and really Ray's death had turned out fine in the end. He'd only been in Achievement City for about two weeks when it happened so he could also blame the fact that he didn't know the area too well.

**.**

Having completed all of Geoff's ridiculous courses that were set specifically to test Ray's skills the day before, his final test was to go into the woods to collect more resources by himself. Specifically he was to gather gold and diamond. The former was needed in order to power their new project, a rail to expand their territory, and the latter was for himself, necessary to build armor for their excursion to the Nether.

It would be their first trip there together and was supposed to act as his final test. However Ray's trip into the nearby caves had resulted in his death and respawn back in the temporary dirt house, where he was found, delirious and without memories of the past two weeks he'd been there. Although his weapons and supplies were brought back, his experience orbs were accidentally taken by Michael (who apologized after the whole ordeal was over), thus completely ruining any chance of recovering said memories. While it had only taken him a couple days to heal from his wounds, it took a full two weeks before he could trust the others again.

Respawns were always like this and it was the reason why Geoff had issues with newcomers. If they died and respawned, the work that went into healing someone had to be worth it, otherwise it was a waste of supplies. Of course that's what Geoff said. Gavin, during Ray's second week of recovery, told him that the last person they allowed into their group had respawned and looted their homes while they attempted to get back to him.

“But you wouldn't do that, would you Ray?” Gavin asked.

Ray, caught off guard by the question, immediately shook his head.

“Good!” Gavin got up and headed to his door. Kicking the wooden door open, he shuffled outside for a bit, bending down to pick up a frame which he carried back inside. “I brought you a get-well present. It's one of the paintings from my art gallery. Just don't tell Michael I gave it to you, otherwise he'll whine about not getting one.”

“Where do I put it?” Ray asked.

“Well it'd look great just here.” Gavin gestured to the wall above the chest. “Seems like a good spot dunnit?”

“But,” Ray began. “I don't technically live here, do I?”

“Don't be silly.” Gavin scoffed. “Of course you do. Why would we have built it otherwise? Now get better, Michael wants to apologize but he won't because he's a nob. He's probably going to let you swing Mogar for a bit, but only when you're better.”

It was mostly a one-sided conversation after that—Gavin talking about the first time he'd gone into the Nether with Geoff and Jack, about the first time he'd met Michael, about his outfit which he designed from a creeper he killed once—but Ray would be lying if he said he hadn't enjoy it. Gavin was funny and nice and although Ray had barely known him for a week (discounting the previous memories he lost when he died) he could already tell he liked being around him.

He liked being in Achievement City, where Jack would worry and build houses to de-stress (small structures that would later be safe houses to others if they couldn't find their way back to the city before nightfall); where Ryan sometimes showed up to help the city grow (usually this involved scavenging for resources in the Nether or bring new information from other villages); where Caleb sometimes came from another village, bringing along plans of training courses he'd learned (they were complex mazes or games); where Joel would occasionally wander in after a few weeks (steering clear of Gavin, because according to Michael, Gavin had a tendency to set things on fire whenever Joel was around just to mess with him).

“It's not much,” Geoff said, when Ray emerged from the dirt house after those two weeks. He grinned knowingly at Ray's reaction to his towering house. “But it's home.”

**.**

Had the respawn not occurred it was possible he wouldn't have become friends with Gavin or Michael for that matter. Just a little after Ray decided to stay, Gavin appeared at his dirt house to announce he was going to have company for his next trip to the caves (“But quarry sounds so much better!” Gavin insisted much to Michael's annoyance).

“What for?” Ray asked.

“Geoff's decided we can't let you go off on your own when you're doing dig downs. It's not that we don't trust you, we do!” Gavin added quickly. “We're just don't want a repeat of last time.”

And so, Ray was accompanied by Michael and Gavin. The three falling into an easy friendship that was soldered when Ray fought off two skeleton archers and two armored zombies while Michael rescued Gavin from a dark pit he'd fallen into. In turn this event also proved his worth to Geoff.

Today was hopefully not going to be a repeat of that eventful day. They hadn't seen much trouble during the last couple weeks so Ray thought it was safe to assume they'd go home, loaded with supplies, and the others would have a beer while he had some water or milk if Michael had any cookies at his house. It would be a quiet evening. They'd watch the sunset before calling it a night.

When a man stumbled around a corner of their tunnel, causing Michael to pull out Mogar and both Ray and Gavin to pause in the middle of mining, Ray realized, that really, he brought this on them.

The dude was wrecked. He sported bruises and bleeding scabs all along the visible parts of his body and his hair looked a little singed. His clothing was torn in a number of places and his sword cracked, probably from overuse in keeping away the armored zombies and archers following him. And not far behind them, barely discernible in the dark cave, were two creepers.

There was a moment's silence in which they assessed the situation before Michael yelled in what Ray thought was a reasonable tone of panic, “shit, run!”

Gavin led the way, Ray just behind him with Michel bringing up the rear after taking a few swings at the zombies closest to them.

“I can take them out with a few enchanted arrows.” Gavin called out, running in and out of rocks standing in their way.

“And destroy the cave?” Michael said incredulously, groaning when his elbow hit a rock jutting out of the wall. “Geoff would kill us!”

“Yeah but—”

“Just keep running!”

They emerged out of the tunnel and made a sharp turn onto a ledge where Gavin stopped just off to the side, probably thinking that the monsters would keep on running forward, and fall off. Realizing the plan too late Ray, misjudged the width of the edge. He backpedaled trying to curb his momentum only to stumble over his cloak.

He could see the steep fall below, a river of lava lying dormant at the bottom. Ray was already closing his eyes, bracing himself for impact, when a hand shot out pulling him back onto the ledge against the wall beside Gavin, who in turned latched onto him frantically calling out his name. Ray chanced a glance next to him and was surprised to see it wasn't Michael's doing but the stranger who was standing just next to him. The guy had to be running on adrenaline because although Ray didn't weigh much he was still carrying a lot of stuff in his bag.

“Ray?” Michael was just beside the stranger, breathing heavily.

“I'm good.” He nodded.

Before Michael could question him any further, groans behind him interrupted their rest. Apparently their enemies hadn't all fallen to their death, and some had begun to edge toward them from the opposite end of the ledge. Ray was really regretting their decision to sneak past them instead of taking care of them earlier.

Ray muttered, “well fuck.”

“What?” Gavin peered over his shoulder, “What happened? What did I miss?”

“Nothing you dumb shit—WHAT ARE YOU DOING? YOU'LL FUCKING FALL, YOU IDIOT!”

Gavin was leaning over the edge, ignoring Michael's continuous screams to “stop fucking around.” Ray almost giggled and he was pretty sure it was the hysteria of almost falling to his death because normally in the face of such danger he kept his cool. Things weren't looking so great for them.

“Look, it's the ladder we left!” Gavin made his way down, pickaxe dangling precariously from his bag.

“The spiders can still follow us though.” Michael pointed out.

“But the others can't, so come on!” Ray scrambled after Gavin, trusting Michael to follow.

Ray jumped down onto the ledge below, grunting a little from the fall but he continued to follow Gavin who was already far ahead, scouting the tunnels and lighting up the tunnel even further with his torches. Ray hesitated, waiting to see a glimpse of Michael on the ledge before he took off, listening to Gavin's directions when the tunnels started taking sharp turns.

“I'm starting to sense a pattern,” Micheal shouted above the sounds of zombies.

“Oh?” Ray winced as an arrow grazed his side and landed on the wall ahead of him just before he made another left at Gavin's instruction.

“We don't know how to light up caves!” Michael cursed wildly and Ray vaguely heard the sound of armor clashing against diamond.

Gavin wasn't too far ahead but his torches were starting to lessen with each turn. “We're almost there lads!”

Making one final right turn Ray finally saw sunlight up ahead.

“Thank fucking Christ.” Michael's said, relieved as one of the safe houses emerged into view just a few feet outside the cave.

Gavin was already inside and held the door open as the others rushed in, tripping over each other in their haste to get inside. The slamming of the door was loud but it wasn't enough to drown out the sudden hissing of zombies and skeletons burning in the daylight. Ray slumped against a bed, looked up in surprise, when finally the stranger spoke.

“Gavin?” He asked.

Ray turned to Gavin. “You know this guy?”

Gavin frowned, looking the man up and down before shaking his head. “No.”

“Gavin, it's me, Dan.” The man took a step forward and in an instant Michael was there, stepping between them. “We built an entire village together!” He continued, trying to get closer, one hand outstretched toward Gavin. “Slow-Mo-ville, don't you remember?”

Gavin shuffled back uneasily and Michael pointed Mogar just under the stranger's neck. “If he doesn't remember, then he _doesn't_ remember.”

“That's because he respawned and ran away before I could—”

“Shut up.” Michael snapped. “Just shut up.” He pushed the man back into the wall, sword pointing down to a spot where the man sunk into, eying Gavin frantically. Michael turned and muttered to Ray. “Call Geoff. Ask him if we should bring him in.”

Ray nodded and looked over at Gavin who stood across from the man, axe in his hand and his bag of iron slung over his narrow shoulders, looking a little lost. “Gavin, want to help me?”

“What?” Gavin started. “Oh. Yeah, yeah.”

Waiting until the monsters had all burned, they then made their way around the back of the house. Ray switched his glasses out, opting for his regular square lenses. He couldn't wait until they got home so he could get out of his gear. He pulled his small headset from his pocket and attached it to his ear. Gavin fumbled with his bag, searching through its pockets for his own.

Flipping the switch on, Ray spoke into the microphone. “Geoff, come in, you there?”

He waited a couple minutes, repeating the call a few more times, before Geoff finally answered. “Yeah, what is it?” He sounded annoyed and there was a stifled yawn on his end. “Did Gavin try to push Michael into lava again?”

“No.” Ray rubbed the back of neck. “We found someone. Says he knows Gavin but Gavin—”

“He said I had respawned Geoff!” Gavin shouted into his earpiece and Ray winced. “Which makes no sense because... well because!”

“Good argument.” Ray commented.

“Shut up Ray,” Gavin grumbled. “Look point is... it doesn't make any sense. He says we built a village together and if I had respawned back in that village, I'd have waited there. I mean when I respawned in Achievement City and I waited so obviously I'd react the same way.”

“Not necessarily.” Geoff sighed. “All right. Bring him here. Make sure you blind him, don't want him knowing how to get here.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “He can do what he wants. I'm asking you two, if he chooses to go, will you let him?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I'm going to try and update weekly. I have enough written out that it shouldn't be a problem for the next couple weeks.
> 
> Read @ [LJ](http://sandedletters.livejournal.com/12697.html)

The walk back home was uneventful for which Ray was particularly grateful. He kept a careful eye on the sun, knowing it wouldn't be long before night descended upon them. Leading a blindfolded Dan was difficult but Michael seemed quite at home with the task, pulling and pushing the stranger with ease. Gavin was quiet the whole way which was worrying, to say the least. Michael kept shooting Gavin looks, attempting to engage him in one of their usual silent conversations that dealt with eyebrows and grins but to no avail. Ray shrugged at him whenever Michael looked his way for help.

They got to Achievement City unsurprised to see Geoff and Jack waiting for them just on the edge of the city. Jack had his helmet and other gear on and he held a sword in his hand. Geoff had also suited up in his armor and in his hand he held some dynamite. Ray raised an eyebrow but otherwise said nothing as they motioned for them to follow. They led Dan to a small house just by Geoff's house, recently constructed with a steel door which, Ray realized as soon as they stepped inside, only opened from the outside. 

Geoff quickly took Dan's belongings, starting with the sword Ray was holding, and cracked it over his knee before handing the pieces over to Michael who tucked them away in a bag along with Dan's other limited supplies.

“Leave us,” Geoff said. “Michael you stand guard outside, the rest of you, go sleep. Tell Jack to come in.”

Gavin who was the closest to the door took off first, striding in the direction of his home, without a word. Ray made a face. That wasn't like Gavin at all. Michael suddenly stood in front of Ray, evidently having waited until Jack was inside.

Michael looked uncertain. “Do you think we could—?”

“Yeah, go ahead.” Ray interrupted and handed over his bag. “Just drop my stuff in my house. Make sure he's all right okay?”

Michael smiled gratefully and took off running across the lawn. Ray leaned against the wall beside the door and sighed. The sun was already setting, he hoped Geoff and Jack got this over with soon.

**. . .**

It was like Ray learned how to curse himself or something. Clearly they had to take another look at the placement of their torches because they were certainly not stopping any enemies from naturally spawning within the city. 

He took a deep breath, keeping his eyes open for any sign of another spider making its way across the lawn and occasionally gazing in the direction of Gavin's house. The lights were still on and Michael hadn't emerged from it yet. Behind him, he heard the muffled voices of both Geoff and the stranger. Dan seemed to be arguing and Geoff was calm and collected, just as Ray expected him to be. Jack hadn't spoken much but whenever he did, his voice was always low.

Turning to his right, he wondered if the sun would be making its appearance any time soon because that would seriously help in his watch. Just as he was about to do another turn about the small house, there was a knock behind him. Ray scrambled toward the door, making sure it was a familiar face before pressing the button.

Geoff emerged, taking off his helmet before staring Ray down. Ray had the decency to look a little sheepish. Beckoning Ray over, Geoff walked towards his house, Jack following behind them. They walked in, taking off their gear as they went. Ray cautiously mimicked them: he pulled off his cloak and hat, letting them rest on a nearby table (the one Gavin had finally convinced Geoff to put in there after apparently months of owning nothing but a bed).

Geoff turned to him, crossing his arms. “Did you hear anything that was discussed in there?”

“No,” Ray shook his head. “I was a little busy with some spiders.”

“Why were you outside and not Michael?” Jack asked.

Ray averted his gaze. “He went to check on Gavin.”

“Of course he did.” Geoff sighed and rubbed a hand over his face. “Right. Well, go check on them. Make sure they haven't killed each other. Then go get some sleep. We've got a long day tomorrow.”

“You got it boss.” Ray saluted and Geoff looked a little amused at that.

Quickly gathering up his belongings, Ray headed to the door, setting off in a sprint towards Gavin's house. Before barging in, he decided to take a peek in through the windows. Michael and Gavin were sitting on the floor, neither of them had taken off their gear, and from Ray's angle he could see that Michael still had Ray's bag on him. He'd probably been too worried.

Gavin was staring at the ground and he was talking in such a low voice which was even more worrying considering Ray often had to walk over and tell them to keep it down whenever he and Michael stayed up at night. Michael, was quiet, looking at Gavin with such concern that Ray almost didn't notice the fact that Michael was holding Gavin's hands between his.

Whatever they were talking about, he sure didn't want any part of it. Not tonight. He'd almost died and he'd just spent half the night fending off more enemies. He needed some sleep. Turning around he headed back to his house, where at least the scent of all the roses would help lull him into an easy sleep.

**. . .**

Ray woke to the sound of Michael's voice and the sound of iron and other precious metals jostling about. He turned in bed and squinted at his door. Sitting in a pile along with Michael's was his own bag and standing in the doorway was Michael himself, looking exhausted.

Sitting up in bed, he reached for his glasses and pushed them on. “Hey.”

Michael nodded his greeted and shut the door behind him. He leaned against it and rubbed his eyes as he slid down to sit with a sigh. 

After a few moments Ray asked tentatively, “so... How's Gavin?”

Michael was silent before he replied, “he'll be okay, at least I think so?”

Ray nodded. Respawns were a touchy subject if they had to do with Gavin. Neither of them knew exactly why, but Jack once mentioned Gavin was a frequent respawner. Gavin's death eventually stopped being a problem and Ray was inclined to believe Michael might have had something to do with it.

“Where's he now?” Ray asked, quiet and wary of Michael's slumped figure.

“Geoff's talking to him,” Michael sighed. “Then he's coming over here to talk to us.”

Ray frowned. Gavin had been around longer than either of them so in a way he wasn't surprised he was being briefed first but as of late, they were usually all in the room to avoid miscommunication and repetition.

Some of Ray's confusion must have shown because Michael suddenly went on to add: “This sound strange to you too?”

Ray eyed Michael's face. There was anger there, suppressed and ready to come out so long as Ray gave it permission. He shrugged, as nonchalantly as he could, hoping his feigned certainty would seem genuine. “Yeah, but Geoff'll explain.”

Michael's shoulders relaxed a fraction and he let out a breath. He nodded. “I guess.”

Ray considered him for a moment. “Have you slept at all?”

Michael stifled a yawn and shook his head. “No, Gavin didn't—he couldn't sleep so I kept him company. We talked.”

Ray grinned and stood, heading over to his chest for a clean set of clothing. “Sure it was 'just' talking?”

“What do you mean?”

“Well...” Ray couldn't help but turn and smile. “I saw you two holding hands last night.”

Michael's eyes widened before he crossed his arms. “It's not like that. He just kept flailing and he hit me—”

“I'm not judging.” Ray raised his hands up in mock surrender. “I think it's cute.”

“Oh my fucking God no. Just. Don't ever say that. Ever.”

**.**

Ray allowed Michael to nap in his bed. It was the least he could do, given his role in their escape the day before. He searched through his chest for food before realizing he had taken his supply on the journey through the caves yesterday (they usually took turns as to who brought food for the others) and amongst the three of them, they'd finished the last of his bread.

Grumbling to himself he wondered which house was the best option to go to for food. He was starting to get hungry and Michael would probably be hungry as well when he woke up. He opened his door and looked across the lawn at Geoff's house. He probably had some food. He glanced over at Gavin's house. He could sort of make out Geoff's outline in one of the windows.

Geoff wouldn't mind if he took a couple loaves of bread. Leaving the door open behind him, he crossed the small distance between their houses and pushed open the chest just outside Geoff's house. He paused briefly at the number of buckets (one of which held lava) before he shrugged it off and proceeded to take as many pieces of bread he could carry. He wrinkled his nose in distaste at the cake in one corner of the chest, fully aware that Michael would probably enjoy a slice, but otherwise ignored its existence. By the time he finished picking out a small selection of food, Geoff was already at his door, waiting. 

“Morning Geoff!” Ray greeted cheerfully.

Geoff stared at the food in his hands. “You'll be replacing that later.”

“Hey, at least I didn't take the cake.”

They walked inside, Geoff carefully closing the door behind him while Ray went about in setting the food on the lone table in his room (courtesy of Michael who had gotten tired of seeing his cookies tossed in beside Ray's roses and made him a table especially for any food they shared). He motioned for Geoff to a seat before moving to wake Michael up.

They sat around his table, Michael on the only other chair available and Ray sitting on top of his chest, legs crossed neatly. They ate in silence, chewing and avoiding eye contact until Geoff finished his bread.

“Guess you're wondering what Gavin and I talked about?” Geoff directed the question at Michael.

Michael, kept his gaze down, and nodded. Ray set his food aside quietly and nodded when Geoff looked at him.

“Dan was telling the truth.”

That simple line was enough to set Michael on his feet, disbelief and confusion clear on his face. “Bullshit. He could be lying.”

“No, it's true,” Geoff sighed. “I know it's true because I knew them when they were younger. Well, sort of younger.”

“But Gavin told me he'd heard about you while he was traveling around.” Ray pointed out. “He never said he knew you guys.”

“Well when you've respawned as many times as I think Gavin has, your memory isn't exactly reliable,” Geoff said. “Gavin visited us a couple times, and he told us about Dan and his life back home. Our city was an inspiration to so many villages, he said, and there were others trying to set up something similar elsewhere. Cities and villages just for heroes. Silly right? We're not heroes, I think.” Geoff leaned back in his chair. “We talked a lot over the radio, giving them advice since their village was so small and they were regularly being attacked by mobs or by others trying to steal their resources. Most of the people they'd been trying to protect moved on to other villages but Gavin and Dan stayed at Slow-mo-ville. They wanted to make something out of it. 

“For a couple months Jack and I didn't hear from them. We assumed the worst and tried to forget until Gavin showed up in the city. He was different. Didn't recognize us, didn't remember Dan or their village. He must have respawned so many times while he was out there...” Geoff rubbed the back of his neck. “He said he'd been traveling for a long time and he didn't know from where just that he knew he had to come here. We took him in, tried to figure out what happened to Dan but never found out. We assumed he moved on or he just fell off the edge of the world since, well they did live near it.”

Ray frowned. “Did you tell Gavin all this?”

“Yeah,” Geoff nodded. “Had to. Gavin doesn't remember much but he thought Dan made some sense.”

“So you never told Gavin you knew him before he came here?” Michael asked.

Geoff crossed his arms. “You didn't know him Michael. You have no idea how much he changed. Why tell him about someone who was probably dead? He was better off not knowing.”

“That's stupid.” Michael snapped. “This entire thing is so stupid and—”

Ray interrupted. “So, I'm guessing Dan never respawned?”

Geoff shook his head. “He went through hell trying not to. Otherwise he'd forget Gavin and everything that happened. He says, he sealed off Gavin's experience orbs and went looking for him.”

Ray's eyes widened a little. “So you mean, Gavin could possibly get all his memories back and then...”

Geoff shrugged. “If they're still there and if Gavin wants to of course.”

“And you'll just let him go?” Michael asked. “Leave Achievement City and—?”

“If Gavin wants to,” Geoff cut in quietly. “He can do what he wants. I'm asking you two, if he chooses to go, will you let him?”


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He raised his chin a little, as if daring the others to say something.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welp sorry about the lateness in getting this up. Also apologies if there are any spelling errors in this. Did a quick read-through of it but might not have been thorough.
> 
> Read @ [LJ](http://sandedletters.livejournal.com/12993.html)

“This is stupid,” Michael said.

Ray looked up from his book. Michael was standing at his window, gazing in the direction of the house where Dan was being held. Supposedly, Gavin was over there talking to him. Geoff had told them not to interfere, warning them of punishment if they did.

Ray set his book aside. “What is?”

Michael was shaking. “Everything! Gavin is over there alone with the guy and he could be dangerous! You heard Geoff, they hadn't heard from him since before Gavin showed up and Gavin's been here for almost two years so who knows how much he's—”

“More like a year and a couple months,” Ray interrupted. “And I doubt he was in those caves all this time. I mean, he looks okay.”

Michael let out a noise of frustration and stalked away from the window. He was pacing, hands curled into fists, and breathing harshly through his nose. Ray shook his head. He understood Michael's worry. He was worried too if he was honest, but someone had to keep their head.

“Listen,” Ray stood up and clasped Michael by the shoulder, stopping him. “Gavin'll be fine. His spawn is here in Achievement City so if Dan _does_ try anything, we'll know. Gavin's never exactly been quiet when he respawns here.”

Michael looked down, mouth setting in Ray could only call a pout. “Yeah. I guess.”

“Man, you're being a serious downer here.” Ray swung his arm around his friend's shoulder and steered him toward the door. “Let's go get some food.”

**. . .**

Ray held a cup of milk to his mouth and took a large gulp from it. He and the others were gathered in Jack's house, waiting for the meat Ryan had brought to finish cooking. The only one missing was Gavin. According to Geoff, he and Dan were still talking. Michael was sitting on the floor at back of the house by the large expanse of windows. He was drinking a beer and he looked like he was trying very hard not to glare out the window. Ray sighed and looked over at Geoff who was sitting at the table with Jack and Ryan, looking over a map. There was silence except for the sizzle of the meat currently in the furnace.

Night had settled and in the distance they could hear wolves howling and bats squeaking. There were, thankfully no sounds of other unwanted enemies: Geoff having listened to him about the lighting issues after their talk earlier that day. From his perch on Jack's crafting table Ray looked up at the ceiling and smiled a little at the various pieces of artwork hanging there. They were gifts from Gavin, obviously, his ever-growing collection had managed to spill into their homes as well.

Ray jumped when the door suddenly open. Gavin walked in, looking nervous and out of place in his survival clothing. Hadn't he changed last night? Gavin closed the door behind him and headed towards Jack's chest, probably to grab a beer. The low murmur of conversation died out, a weary calm broken only by the sound of Gavin's movements.

Unable to take it anymore Ray greeted him, “hey Gavin.”

“Hey,” Gavin nodded. He sat down on top of Jack's chest and fumbled with his drink.

Conversation from the table resumed and Ray glanced over to see Geoff staring hard at the map with Jack and Ryan torn between looking at the map and at Gavin. Michael was staring up at Gavin from his corner, expression unreadable.

Ryan suddenly stood up. “Well you're just in time for some food. Steak should be done and Jack's made some mushroom stew in case you're not up for that.”

The sounds of bowls and plates being passed about clinked loudly in the near quietness of the house and there was a low murmur of thanks when they each received a helping of the meal. Geoff was the only one who refused to eat and instead sat at the table, with another beer and the map spread out on his lap. Ray chewed quietly, nervous of the stillness but unsure of how to break it. Wildly Ray thought of mentioning Dan and whether he was going to be fed but wisely decided against voicing this thought, wary of the reactions he'd receive.

Gavin cleared his throat and Ray looked over at him. He was staring down at the bottle in his hands which shook as he looked up at them. “I'm uh... going to Slow-mo-ville.”

Silence ensued. Ray blinked, eyebrows raised. He opened his mouth but then shut it carefully. What could he say? He looked around the room. Jack had paused mid-bite, Ryan was quietly putting down his fork, and Michael sat back against the wall, the light of the room reflecting off his glasses and hiding his eyes from view. Geoff was the only one who didn't react at all. He was still staring down at the map and even managed a sip of beer.

“But I'm coming back,” Gavin went on to say hastily. “I just... I need to go. Dan says my experience orbs are still there and if I wanted to, we could go and get them. ”

Finally Geoff spoke, “are you sure?”

“Yes,” Gavin said, warily.

“Well, guess that's settled.” Geoff stood up, nodding slowly. “When are you leaving?”

Gavin looked uncertain. “Tomorrow.”

“All right. You can take whatever you need.” Geoff rolled up the map and pushed it towards Jack who took it with a slight frown.

“That's it?” Gavin blinked, tone suddenly lowering. “You're not... you won't stop me?”

Without looking back Geoff opened the door. “Gavin, when have I ever been able to stop you from doing anything?” Ray noted the slight shake of Geoff's head. “Just be careful.”

He walked out, hands in his pocket, and drink forgotten on the table. Gavin turned to Michael who suddenly stood.

“Michael?” Gavin asked.

Ray watched, slightly embarrassed to be a witness of this moment. A glance at Jack and Ryan showed they were in a similar state of discomfort. He turned back, wincing at Gavin's outstretched hand which was ignored as Michael made his way out the door. Ray looked at Gavin; his face filled with hurt and confusion as he looked at Michael's retreating back. 

Gavin averted his gaze, hunching in on himself, and stared at his beer. Ray's brow furrowed and before he could even properly think it through he stood up and walked over to him, slapping a hand on his shoulder. “So do you think I could tag along?”

Gavin looked up at him fuzzily, as if he hadn't heard correctly. “What?”

“Well...” Ray shrugged. “It's been a while since you've been out there and knowing you, you'll probably fall into a cave somehow and someone'll have to save your ass.”

Gavin blinked a couple of times, and Ray wanted to laugh because it was so easy to tell his friend was still trying to process what he'd said. Then Gavin's face broke out into a grin. “Thanks Ray.”

Ryan added, “I'll prepare some food for you. I can probably walk with you to the next village too. I've got to go look for some more animals to kill.” 

“I won't be going,” Jack began. “But I wish you luck Gavin. And you better come back otherwise I'm burning your house down.”

“Not my art gallery!”

**. . .**

After wishing Gavin goodnight, Ray backtracked and headed towards Michael's house. The lights were off but that didn't mean he wasn't awake. Knowing him, he was probably brooding in the dark. He opened the door gently and stepped inside, cursing when his eyes failed to adjust quickly enough.

“Michael, buddy, you here?” Ray asked.

A few moments then: “Yeah.”

Ray squinted and made out the shape of Michael's body sitting on his bed, propped up against the wall. He walked over, and sat down next to him. “So... you wanna tell me what that was about?”

“No,” was the short reply.

Ray nodded. “You know you're being an asshole right?”

“ _I'm_ being an asshole?” Michael snapped. “That's nice, coming from you.”

“Whoa, hey, now,” Ray raised his hands even though they couldn't be seen in the darkness. “This is not about me. This is about you being a dick about Gavin, your friend, who probably needs you on his side after what Geoff's said... or didn't say, I guess.”

“Well what did you expect from Geoff? We're going to be one man down so that means we need to take someone else in, we can't hold our own, just the four of us—”

Ray rolled his eyes. “Oh just shut up. That's not what this is about. How can you even...?” Ray took a deep steadying breath. “Look, Gavin doesn't need this shit from you. He was just told he had a life before this that Geoff knew about. How would you feel if it was you in Gavin's place and I was keeping secrets from you?”

Michael was silent and Ray could hear his breathing begin to even out from the rage it'd been building up to moments ago. He waited and was surprised to feel tentative fingers on his hands. That was... well.

And suddenly the awkwardness fell away when he noticed Michael's shaking form. Yeah, that wasn't good.

“Hey man, you—?”

“No, I'm not okay,” Michael said in frustration. “I'm fucking pissed at all this! I'm pissed off at Geoff for keeping this shit a secret and Jack because he knew, and Ryan too because of course he fucking knew. They all did and they never said anything! And Dan for fucking showing up in the first place and Gavin for... for fucking _leaving_ and you because you're making sense and—”

“Gavin's not leaving,” Ray cut in firmly. “He's coming back. This is home. He belongs here. You know that. He wouldn't just leave us. Especially not you, aren't you his boy or whatever?”

“Oh God,” Michael snorted. “Shut up, it sounds gay when you say it like that.”

“Michael,” Ray began. “This entire situation is pretty gay. We're holding hands.”

“That's because I know if I don't, I'll fucking punch a hole in my wall.”

Ray looked down at the bed, a frown slipping across his face, unseen in the darkness. “Right.”

**.**

The thing is, Ray knew why Michael was upset. This sort of thing had happened before. Well, something like it had happened. It was complicated and a little stupid if Ray was honest. Even Michael had agreed when he reminded Ray of their past after losing memory of it.

He and Michael grew up around each other. They didn't live in the same village but traveled pretty frequently into each other's. Ray's village had food and Michael's village had coal and diamond so of course the two had done a lot of trading. He and Michael met, traded, and occasionally flirted without any real passion behind it. They were friends after all. Then one day Michael vanished.

Ray assumed it was because he had moved onto another village. It wasn't uncommon for people to move to better places where creatures were less known to dwell. Given Michael's village sat at the bottom of a ravine, it was only natural that its inhabitants would yearn for a home above where sunsets and sunrises were a given rather than a rare opportunity. 

A month went by before Michael showed up again and this time he didn't even greet Ray. Ray, in turn, assumed Michael had just gotten tired of him and simply went about his business, trading the loaves of bread and seeds he'd gotten from his farm. His neighbors told him he was being an idiot, saying something had probably happened and he should ask, but Ray thought that was too desperate. It wasn't like he needed Michael.

Michael found him, eventually though. Word having gotten to him that Ray had the best loaves in the entire village. Things escalated from there pretty quickly. Kisses were traded and messy handjobs within the safety of Ray's small home were a frequent occurrence.

It was not the best way to start off a relationship. Michael eventually recovered his experience orbs, they had a fight, broke up and stopped talking to each other for a couple months. Then Michael showed up on Ray's doorstep, a bag of cookies shoved into Ray's hands before he could say no and a promise that Michael would be back tomorrow for some beer. 

**.**

Things had gotten better of course, they became friends again, and it was only because of Michael that Ray got a chance to come to Achievement City. They never talked about it though, which probably wasn't healthy.

“I'm going with Gavin,” Ray said suddenly.

Silence followed this statement. Slowly, Michael's hand slipped from his. Ray couldn't help but wince at the sudden bang of a fist hitting the bed. “What?”

Ray bit his lip. “Well, someone has to take care of him and since it's obvious you're not going, might as well be me.” Realizing Michael wasn't going to respond Ray stood up and walked to the door. “Just be there to say goodbye to him. Don't pussy out on that at least.”

**. . .**

Ray picked up his bag just before heading outside. He walked towards the edge of the lawn where the others had gathered. Ryan was already in his survival clothing, inspecting a map in one hand and quietly munching on some cake with the other.

“Morning,” Ray greeted. “Gavin still not up yet?”

“Nope,” Jack shook his head. “Geoff went to wake him so he should be here soon.”

“What about—?”

Ray instantly closed his mouth at the sound of steps behind him. A quick glance confirmed his suspicions. He turned to face Dan.

“Hey.” Ray waved a little. “I never got to thank you for saving my life in the cave. So thanks for that.” Ray held out his hand. “I'm Ray by the way.”

“Dan,” he said, shaking his hand. “You're joining us?”

“Yeah,” Ray replied. “Seems like you could use help.”

After the others exchanged pleasantries they sat down on the steps, looking over at Gavin's house occasionally. When the door finally opened, it was to reveal a silent and subdued Gavin. Ray watched Gavin's approach, warily. His head was lowered and he kept his hands in his pockets. He stopped once and Ray felt a pang of sympathy to see him glance at Michael's still and quiet house.

Gavin stood there for a few quiet seconds, before he shook his head and resumed his walk towards them. He raised his chin a little, as if daring the others to say something. Ray reached out to clap a hand on his back. “Ready, buddy?”

“Yeah,” Gavin replied.

Geoff cleared his throat. “Sorry about last night. That was...” Geoff shrugged. “Take care of yourself Gavin. Don't set anyone else's house on fire.”

“Aww Geoff, you should know me better by now.” Gavin laughed.

“Yeah,” Geoff looked away, over at the city. “I should. I'll try and keep your art gallery intact but I make no promises.”

“Thanks Geoff.” Gavin was solemn. “I appreciate it.”

Ryan coughed a little. “C'mon, we better get going—”

“Hey!”

Ray turned, mouth opening in slight surprise. Micheal was walking towards them, Mogar tucked into his belt and his bag swung over one shoulder. “You're not leaving without me are you?”


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ray suppressed the urge to sigh and shake his head. His friends were being stupid.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about the lateness in getting this up! Been a little distracted and bogged down with classes and such. Thus, I'm afraid it's possible I won't be updating next week. The semester will be over in the next three weeks and I am stressing out a little. Once the hectic of finals are over though, you can rest assured weekly updates will resume. Also, I've noticed a lot of people leaving me kudos are guests, would anyone like an invitation to get an AO3 account? I have three here I'm more than happy to give away. If so leave me your email in an ask over at my [tumblr](http://ilcocoabean.tumblr.com/ask) and I'll send one your way! And make sure to check out the [side fic](http://archiveofourown.org/works/771276) in the series.
> 
> Read @ [LJ](http://sandedletters.livejournal.com/13080.html)

Gavin was the first one to react. Between one moment and the next he launched himself against Michael, who let out a stream of profanities as he struggled to keep balance and Mogar out of the way.

“Gavin, you idiot get off me!” Michael shouted but there was no real bite in it.

Gavin on the other hand was babbling, voice both grateful and excited in turns. Ray rolled his eyes but he was grinning. Jack and Geoff looked unimpressed and Ryan had gone back to inspecting the map.

“These guys,” Ray muttered to himself. He turned to Ryan, and in doing so caught the slight frown on Dan's face. That was weird. “Guess we're ready to go now?”

Ryan nodded. “If we leave now, we should make it to Achievementburg before nightfall. Caleb can duplicate some more maps for you and you can stock up on more food and other supplies. From there you guys are on your own.”

Once Gavin let go of Michael they began their way out of the city limits. Waving goodbye, Ray took one last glance at his house. He really hoped Geoff and Jack would be too worried about them to think of doing something to it. Knowing them though, that was highly unlikely. Their somber attitude from before was already rapidly clearing up and there were smiles on their faces as they waved goodbye.

The road they took was mostly paved until they reached the trees. From there the road was mostly sectioned off with flowers. Achievementburg was a small village that had been destroyed by creepers and plagued by Endermen. Caleb, Joel, and Ryan were the ones working to get it back up in order but really, it was mostly a lost cause and no one really ever passed through there. Geoff, however, had insisted upon taking it into their territory on the grounds that it could be useful if they ever found it was too late to reach the city before night fell.

As they walked over a hill and came onto a patch of grassland, Ray became aware of the steady silence that'd continued since they left. It wasn't particularly difficult to notice the sudden tension between Michael and Gavin. All previous moments of happiness seemed suddenly forgotten as they did their best to keep from bumping too close to each other. Gavin was walking a little further ahead of him, just behind Ryan and Michael was bringing up the rear, just a few steps behind Ray and Dan.

Ray rolled his eyes, knowing that such movement wouldn't be caught behind his survival shades. He hadn't changed into the proper attire for their journey and neither had Gavin but being the wary fucker that he was Ray had at least decided to switch out his glasses, and Gavin in turn had pulled on his gloves. From the way he kept fiddling with them though, it was probably a way to give his hands something to do.

Ray suppressed the urge to sigh and shake his head. His friends were being stupid. In an effort to keep things from becoming even more awkward Ray turned to Ryan and began to ask him about his plans for the small village. As far as conversations went, it wasn't the most riveting but at least Gavin started to speak more, offering suggestions and asking questions.

As soon as the village came into view, Ray cheered up considerably. He liked Achievementburg because it was the only place that had any proper farms even if most of them had been blown up by creepers. The few still intact were enough to keep them fed and Ray liked to give Caleb tips on the best way to grow wheat. He vaguely wished he had thought to bring his hoe along so he could have helped harvest. He'd just have to ask Joel or Caleb to borrow one of theirs.

Caleb was the first to appear, coming out of a mostly intact house (there were parts of the foundation that had been blown off but at least the stairs were still there). He held a pickaxe and a block of stone in the other arm. After a quick exchange of greetings they divided up, Michael and Dan to help harvest wheat with Caleb while Gavin, Ryan, and Ray went off to dig out some coal from the nearby cave two creepers had discovered for them.

After changing into their survival clothing, they headed down, Ryan at their side, talking about the village again.

“How's Joel?” Ray asked.

“He's fine,” Ryan replied. “He keeps trying to rebuild the houses with dirt though. Not sure why.”

“Weird.”

**. . .**

After they had gathered a sufficient amount of coal, they headed back for the houses. Joel was waiting for them at the entrance of the cave and he was frowning.

“It's dangerous out there.” He said by way of greeting. “I'm pretty sure this is a bad idea.”

“Most of our ideas usually are,” Gavin replied cheerfully. “But when has that ever stopped us?”

Joel's frown deepened even further but he said nothing as they headed back to the house where Caleb and Michael were in. Dan was standing outside, looking over at the fields. Ray wondered if they'd separated themselves from him on purpose. Caleb was usually fine with strangers but given Michael's attitude toward Dan, Caleb might have thought it best to accommodate Michael instead. Leaving Gavin and the others outside to talk amongst themselves he headed into the house, nose perking up at sweet smell of baking bread.

“Don't you think this is a little too much?” Caleb asked.

“No,” came Michael's short reply. “It's not like we're bringing any resources back. We need to have enough for the trip back.”

There was silence then Caleb asked, “are... all of you coming back?”

“What's that supposed to mean?” Michael glared. “Why wouldn't we all come back?”

“Well...” Caleb fiddled with his shirt. “Geoff made it seem like some of you might not be coming back. He didn't really go into details but he mentioned that guy Dan was an old friend of Gavin's so...”

“So? So what, Caleb?” Michael rounded on him.

“Nothing! Just, forget I said anything.”

“Geoff was just joking,” Ray interrupted before Michael could carry on. “You know him. Hey, why don't you take a break? Pretty sure, I can finish this up faster than you.”

Caleb nodded and headed out without question. Ray listened, waiting until the group had headed into the next building over (probably to eat) before he turned to Michael. He tutted and reached out. “You have no idea how to properly bake bread. Give it here.”

“Baking's not that hard.” Looking a little annoyed Michael handed over the bushels of wheat. “I've baked before.”

Ray scoffed. “Yeah, cookies.”

He stood in front of the crafting table, grimacing when it squeaked a little under the heavy amount of bushels being worked on. Michael hovered nearby, looking through his bag for any other pieces he might have left in there. As soon as he seemed satisfied, Michael wandered over to the window.

“Looks like that guy's just standing around. He's not even helping!”

“Because you're being so helpful right now.” Ray rolled his eyes.

“Well, at least I'm not just—”

“Okay, you need to talk to Gavin.” Ray announced. “Because you guys have got some fucking issues and it's starting to get ridiculous.”

Michael turned to him. “No, I don't have issues. Everything is fucking fine.”

“Jesus, are you listening to yourself right now?” Ray threw the bushels of wheat down. “You and Gavin need to get your shit together because this is going to get awkward and it's already awkward enough with Dan so you two are not helping.”

“What are you yelling at me for?” Michael snapped. “I don't see you yelling at Gavin about—”

“That's because yelling at Gavin does absolutely nothing.” Ray sighed. “You two. Are fucking ridiculous.” Ray stomped over to the door. “And make nice with Dan, he's going to be our guide to Slow-mo-ville so I don't think it's a good idea to get on his bad side.”

Once outside Ray walked over to the next building where through the window he caught a glimpse of Caleb setting food on the table. As he walked inside he saw Ryan, Joel, and Gavin were looking over the map, discussing routes and exchanging knowledge of the land. Dan, however, was no where to be seen.

Ray walked over to Caleb who was pouring out soup into the bowls. “Where's Dan?”

Caleb shrugged. “He just walked off a while ago. Said something about the fields or whatever.”

“Has he eaten?” Ray asked.

“Nope.”

Ray nodded and looked down at his steak and vegetables. He reached for another plate and nodded at the door. “I'll go find him I guess. Make sure he eats.”

Gavin was staring down intently at the map, but Ray could see his eyes weren't really focused on whatever Ryan was saying. His eyes were fixed on a single point, unmoving. Everyone else nodded but otherwise ignored him. Stepping out into the chilly air, Ray was glad that at least the sun hadn't completely set, otherwise finding Dan would have been a little difficult.

He headed for the fields scattered across the other side of the house, away from the one where presumably Michael was still sitting in, baking bread. He found Dan sitting at the edge of a fenced field, watching the sunset. Ray stopped a few feet behind him, clearing his throat.

“Hey.” Ray held up the plates for him to see. “Thought you might be hungry.”

“Thanks.”

Ray took a seat beside him, taking care that there was a sufficient amount of distance between them so it wouldn't be awkward. However given the quiet that came over them, he probably hadn't succeeded in that.

He glanced around for a topic. Wheat? God, he wasn't going to talk about wheat. “So uh...” Ray began. “What's Slow-mo-ville like?”

Dan paused in lifting his fork up to his mouth. He looked at the piece of meat thoughtfully. “It's warmer. Sand, water, and a lot of cacti.” Dan looked a little wistful as he looked up at the sky. “We have... books too.”

“Books?” Ray raised his brows a little. “Huh, sounds nice.”

“Yeah,” Dan nodded, smiling. “Gavin made the bookshelves for all the houses. Said a house wasn't a proper one if it didn't have books in it. The nutter never even read them so it was a probably a waste.”

Ray laughed. “Yeah? Well he's obsessed with paintings now. Doesn't even care what they have on them. Just likes to have them.”

They finished eating quickly and began the walk back. Sunsets around here were definitely a thing to be wary of. He noticed that the lights in the two houses were still on. Maybe Michael and Gavin were finally talking? Speaking of...

“Hey,” Ray began. “Were you and Gavin ever—?” Suddenly he stopped. Yeah, no. That was rude. “Sorry. Never mind. It's none of my business.”

Dan looked amused and sad? Ray looked away, annoyed that he'd even brought it up. Stupid, Ray, so stupid.

There was silence then, Dan let out a soft breath. “No. We could have but...” Dan shrugged.

“Did he—?” Ray cut himself off again. “Sorry, you probably don't want to talk about it.”

The rest of the walk was spent in silence. When they arrived to the house their meals had been prepped in Ray noted that neither Michael nor Gavin were around. Hopefully that would work itself out. The others had probably already gone to their respective temporary houses in the village. Dan and Ray headed upstairs where Caleb had set up temprorary futons. Ray chose one nearest the window and got ready to settle in for the night. Dan took up residence in the one across from his.

The room was dark except for the moon's light shining through the windows. Ray closed his eyes and tried not to think of the long journey ahead of them.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Never in his life had Ray been so glad to see the face of a villager.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again, apologies for getting this up so late. Still recovering from the hellish final weeks of my semester. I'm also currently plotting another fic for this fandom so that's been taking up a bunch of my time. Expect that within the next couple days.
> 
> Read @ [LJ](http://sandedletters.livejournal.com/13583.html)

Ray woke to find the blurry image of Gavin hovering over him and what looked to be a bucket in his hands.

“Please don't,” Ray said, stifling his yawn.

“Well now that you're awake, you've taken all the fun out of it.” Gavin grumbled. “Come on then.”

He reached down onto the floor and felt around for his glasses. Everyone else had already cleared out and from his bed by the window, he could tell that the sun was slowly rising further into the sky. Quickly gathering up his gear, he turned to follow Gavin who stood patiently by the door, looking down at a map.

“According to Dan, Slow-mo-ville is a month away if we travel by villages and rails. Or we could go through the most direct path and cut our traveling time in half,” Gavin turned the map toward Ray and pointed. “We'd go through the plains and desert biomes.”

“Not much trees around there,” Ray commented.

“Yeah,” Gavin replied. “But look here. Reports say there's a possibility of a forest just on the edge of the plains. It'd be a bit off course but if we need any resources, that's our safest bet.”

“Huh. Doesn't sound too bad.” Ray pulled his gloves on. “So how come it took Dan so long to get to us?”

Gavin was quiet as stowed the map away in his bag. For a moment Ray thought Gavin heard him but then he spoke, voice quiet: “He said I was already gone by the time he made it back to the village so he had no idea where I'd gone. Must have made things difficult.”

Nodding, Ray led the way toward the stairs. This whole thing was just an awful clusterfuck. He supposed the less questions he asked, the less upset Gavin would look. 

As they stepped onto the first floor, they found it empty. Gavin suddenly moved forward, beckoning Ray to follow. They stepped outside and found the others sitting in the grass, Caleb the only one standing and handing out breakfast. Michael and Dan were off to the side, and although they weren't talking, at least Michael didn't seem to be glaring at him.

Gavin walked over to them, chewing the piece of bread Caleb handed to him, and sat down between the two. “So let's go over the map, shall we?” He unrolled the paper and attempted to talk through his full mouth. “Sof iff weh—”

Michael rolled his eyes. “Really Gavin?”

Dan shook his head but he was smiling. “Gross, dude.”

Gavin looked affronted but there was a small smile on his face as he gulped down his bread. Ray sat in front of them and listened as Gavin explained their plans. Ryan interrupted a few times to correct Gavin and soon their plans were solidified. Not only that but Ray was pleased to see that by the time they finished eating the tension had disappeared entirely.

**. . .**

Ray trudged along beside Gavin, iron sword and bow respectively held in their hands. Dan had taken the lead, carrying a copy of Gavin's map. He hadn't said much other than to point out the occasional change in direction and neither had the others, caught up in the concentration of their surroundings. Michael kept up behind them, Mogar at the ready as he looked around. They all knew the dangers that lay in traveling through plains. It was bandits' preferred terrain for attacks. Rumor had it, some had built extensive traps just underneath the ground that would send unsuspecting victims into pits filled with enemies or lava.

Which to be fair, Ray thought was a stupid idea. How would they get their victim's loot? Unless they had them land in spiderwebs first? That would be the only way to get the loot. Ray shook his head. Bandits were the worst.

He glanced up at the sun. It was slowly making its way down. They had maybe another hour or two before they had to seek shelter.

“So that forest would be great,” Ray said, scanning the horizon for the possibility of trees. “Really don't want to sleep out here.”

“Yeah, me neither.” Gavin agreed. “Hey uh, Dan? How much further do you think it'll be?”

Dan's shoulders were tense. “Not sure.”

“Didn't you say it wouldn't be too far?” Ray asked, turning to Gavin.

“Yeah, well.” Gavin glanced up at the sky with a pained look. “Reports were a couple months old and terrains change fairly quickly out here, I think.”

Ray sighed and moved ahead to stop Dan. “Let me see the map.”

The map had been redrawn a couple times and there were marks from previous versions. Ray glanced down at his compass. He had to guess their location on the map but Ray was fairly confident it was a very close approximation. If he was right then...

He looked up at the group and beckoned them to gather around him. Once they each had a good view of the map he pointed to a space on it. “So we should be around here. If the reports are correct then that means the forest should be within viewing distance over that way.” Ray jerked his head to his right. “Since they aren't, I think it's safe to assume they've been pushed further out, or,” Ray looked over his glasses at them meaningfully. “Bandits.”

“But taking down an entire biome?” Gavin asked in bemusement. “What good would that do?”

“It makes sure that travelers like us,” Michael grumbled, “aren't safe.”

Ray sighed and crossed his arms. “Assuming they didn't level out the entire forest, they still had a sufficient amount of tools to take out a good number of trees, meaning they probably have enough lumber to make more.”

“Or, we might not have found the forest yet” Gavin pointed out, hopefully. “I say we keep walking a little further just to—”

“That could be a trap.” Ray shook his head

“So what are you suggesting?” Michael bit out, annoyance clear in his voice as he hefted Mogar up onto his shoulder. “We sit here with our fingers up our butts until they find us?”

Ray adjusted his glasses back up as he looked over at the other side of the land. “I think our best option is to move across to the other side of the plains. We don't know what's over there and with any luck, they might not either.”

“But that's a lot of walking!” Gavin whined. “And there could be other traps that way as well!”

“We could go underground.” Dan said.

His voice was the quietest of the three. He'd been standing off to the side, silent enough that they had almost forgotten his presence. Ray made a thoughtful sound. Tunneling underground would be easier in the sense that they would be able to see the traps as opposed to triggering them or waiting for them to be triggered. Then again, they might run into underground cities which were also rumored to exist underneath plains and if they belonged to bandits then they wouldn't want to be caught down there. But if they were careful, they'd be able to make it across safely.

He looked at Michael and Gavin and noted the similar look of skepticism they directed at Dan. Ray rolled his eyes as they each began to voice out their opinions, talking over one another:

“That is crazy—”

“We'd never be able to tell if we'd gotten across and—”

“—we could trigger a trap there or worse—”

“—we'd be luring mobs too! Those buggers can sense—”

“—they might be expecting it!”

“Or they might not be,” Ray said, interrupting their tirade before they could get any louder. “Bandits don't expect people to go underground because no one's stupid enough to do that.”

“And we're the ones stupid enough to do that?” Michael shook his head. “Ray, that's—”

“Fuck yeah we are.” Ray handed the map back to Dan. “Look, we won't go too deep, just deep enough that they won't know that we've gone under. We should wait till dark, build a fire and make like we're going to sleep so if they're watching us, they'll assume we're just settling for the night. Then we can dig down, and keep on going.”

“I've done it,” Dan said.

Ray turned to him, a little surprised but quickly recovered. Of course he had. He reached over and clapped him on the back. “See, it'll totally work.”

Michael and Gavin shared a look of unease but nodded. Ray turned back to Dan just in time to note the curious look sent his way. He shrugged. Someone had to be on the poor guy's side.

**. . .**

Ray was starting to sense a pattern here. Maybe a witch had cursed him or something. Either way, this was becoming a really strange coincidence. As soon as night had fallen, they'd struck a fire, made to go to bed and instantly began to dig into the ground beneath them, arranging the mounds of dirt they dug up to look like their sleeping forms.

As per Ray's suggestion, they didn't go far but as soon as they began to dig in the correct direction they found themselves toppling into a dimly lit cave full of monsters. They managed to escape and block off their exit only to find themselves on the edge of a ravine. There was a cave across from them and what appeared to be a rudimentary set of steep stone stairs that led to a cave a little further up. High ground was preferable but given the distance between the two ledges, Ray wasn't sure whether it was the sensible direction to take.

“Maybe we should keep following this ledge?” Gavin asked. “It's in the direction of the desert.”

“Yeah but we need wood,” Ray replied. “And we shouldn't stay down here for too long, we don't know if it's safe or not.”

“We can't make it across,” Michael pointed out. “That's too much of a—”

Dan rushed past them, his sword the only thing on him as he jumped the space between the ledges. Ray watched in shock, mouth falling open. It was as if it were happening in slow-motion, Dan's outstretched leg reached forward while the other was bent behind him, it's momentum being used to push him forward into the air.

He landed, one foot falling first before the other made its appearance beside it. His balance was off though, threatening to be his undoing before he managed to reign it in and fall forward. He was panting, and with each breath his entire body seemed to shake a little. His sword had clattered to the ground in front of him and he retrieved it before moving to stand. He turned, nodding behind them.

Ray looked and saw his satchel on the floor along with his other things. He must have taken the jump at a run. Impressive, he decided.

After throwing their belongings over to the other ledge, they prepared themselves for their own jumps across. Gavin went first, nearly missing the ledge before Dan's hand came out to grab onto him and pull him to safety. Next went Michael, managing only to stumble into the wall as he landed on the space beside Dan. Ray's jump went far better and he was glad to see Dan nodding in approval at him.

Not that he needed it really. But it was nice to know someone appreciated his hard work.

After a quick survey of the cave in front of them they made their way up the stairs quietly, ears straining for any sounds of an oncoming enemy or bandit. As they neared the top they were grateful to encounter neither. Getting back into open air proved a little more difficult seeing as how they weren't entirely sure where they'd come up.

Ray, was personally a little more wary than the others and given their luck lately, he was inclined to believe his cautiousness was justified. Gavin, however wasn't having any of it.

“We'll just take a peek, see if the sun's come up, and if it hasn't we'll just wait here.” Gavin said, already reaching for his pickaxe.

“If you get us killed, I will find out and my respawned self will not be happy.” Michael warned.

Waving off the other with a scoff Gavin began to hit the stone beside him, aiming up as he went further, tossing stone behind him into Michael's unamused face. Dan and Ray hung back, hands close to their weapon's handles and exchanging worried glances. At the sound of Gavin's surprised cry, they all scrambled forward, drawing their swords as they made their way up the tunnel and into—

“...Oh.” was Michael's eloquent response.

Ray's gaze darted around them from behind his glasses before he put down his sword, a little sheepishly. Dan and Michael copied him as well. Gavin stood a little in front of them, scratching his head in embarrassment.

“Well lads, we seem to have... interrupted a lovely dinner.”

Never in his life had Ray been so glad to see the face of a villager.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It was going to be a long night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Slightly later than usual again. Feeling rather good about this chapter for various reasons. :D Also, I know I haven't posted that fic I talked about in the last update. I've been sidetracked by doing further research. Rest assured though, it's coming and I am excited about it.
> 
> Read @ [LJ](http://sandedletters.livejournal.com/14058.html)

“Has the sun come up yet?” Gavin asked.

Ray sat up and peered out the window. He caught a glimpse of the moon peeking out through some trees and let out a sigh. “Nope. Not yet.”

From across the room Ray heard Michael's stream of curses and bit back a grin. As bleak as the situation looked, it was still preferable over the caves below the house. 

As soon as they appeared in the house they were invited to stay the night or more accurately their weapons were confiscated shortly before they were shoved up into the attic until daytime. Given no explanation why they couldn't just sleep in the living room, they had no other choice than to agree. Especially after the number of maps given to them as a sign of good faith in order to get them up the stairs and into the small room.

Dan was sitting nearby, staring down at the maps and conferring with Ray's compass over their location. Michael was pacing around the room, furious for being parted with Mogar, his hands closed into tight fists. From the small window in the room, Ray observed the night progress. 

He was surprised to see the number of enemies surrounding the village. Usually villages such were well lit and given the size of the village (from the glimpses Ray had caught through the windows on their way up to the attic) there should have been at least one Iron Golem around to protect the village. As far as Ray could tell, no Golem resided in this village which could mean quite a number of things for them and considering the loud banging of zombies surrounding the house, they weren't good things.

Ray sighed and tried to ignore the hissing of spiders crawling all over the roof above them. They could always call up Geoff and the others to come out and help but leaving Achievement City with so few people was not a smart idea. Besides, Dan had been at the maps for nearly an hour and they still weren't any closer to pinpointing their location. With no idea of where they were, what hope could they have of a successful rescue?

Wrapping his cloak around him, he settled down a little more comfortably on his perch underneath the window. It was going to be a long night.

**. . .**

By the time day broke, most of the enemies had burned away. The only exception were the creepers and spiders that stuck around. Ray and the others volunteered to take care of the problem for the villagers as thanks but they refused, instead asking them for another favor.

“We've lost many of our people due to the inefficiency of our homes. Bandits came through a couple weeks ago and destroyed many of them. As such, you can understand why we're wary of handing over your weapons until you leave.” The priest (who turned out to be the owner of the house they'd crashed into and was simultaneously the most overpopulated house in the village) gestured to the many buildings with holes that were patched up with dirt and sand. “Instead to pay off your debt we ask that you help us reconstruct some of these homes. Should your work surpass our expectations we will, of course offer a better recompense to balance it out.”

As soon as they were left alone to think about the offer, Michael was the first one to agree they help. “Anything to get Mogar back.”

Gavin wasn't quite as taken with the idea. “We should take our weapons and bail. They're probably at the blacksmith's home or maybe somewhere here. I'm sure I can find them if you guys distract them long enough.”

“They let us stay the night.” Ray shook his head. “They could have easily sent us out to deal with those enemies but they didn't. Besides villagers always have good trades. We could ask them to enchant all of our weapons.”

“Yeah but that'll take time away from our journey.” Gavin pointed out. 

“We're already off-track,” Ray said. “One day won't hurt. It also means we have somewhere to stay on the way back.”

They turned to Dan, awaiting for his say on the matter. He shrugged. “We've got to repay them somehow.”

**. . .**

They split up amongst the villagers, each of them taking one side of the village and working their way in. They weren't like Jack who was such an expert in house construction (he probably could have led the effort of reconstruction on his own) but after listening to him go on and on about houses, they had a pretty good idea of how and where to start. That and the villagers weren't picky about their homes so long as it ensured their safety from the enemies outside.

The sun was directly above them, signaling the midday and from what Ray could see they were finished with half of the homes in the village. Although it probably wouldn't look as great as Ray assumed it used to be (villages tended to be very homey), it was still better than the half blown up houses.

Ray was setting windows on the second floor of the librarian's house when new information came to his attention. Two of the villagers were inside, stowing books onto the recently constructed shelves below and hadn't noticed Ray as they made their way in. Although their voices were low enough that anyone outside couldn't hear, it wasn't enough to keep Ray from eavesdropping from his perch at the top of the landing.

“The priest is a fool. We've always known that.”

“Yes, but what if he's right about this? He's been right about—”

“No, that was a lucky guess.”

“Yeah, well, they look like heroes to me.”

“They could just as easily be in cahoots with the bandits that did this in the first place.”

“Yes, but they haven't wandered around or done anything sneaky.”

“They could just be waiting until it's dark.”

“Well, who else have we got to trust?”

And just like that they were back outside, walking toward the librarian who was making his way toward his finished house. Ray stood up a little straighter and descended down the steps. Well, that was interesting.

The librarian inspected the house with a smile. “You and your friends have done a very good job.”

Ray shrugged. “It was the least we could do.”

**.**

Since Ray had begun to live at Achievement City, he heard the term 'heroes' thrown around a lot. It was never said within the city limits but whenever they traveled to nearby villages, such as Ray's or Michael's, there were always younger people who looked up to them with awe and envy. For them, Achievement City was a place where only the worthy could go. 

It was easy to see why they were considered heroes. While they judged potential Achievement residents on their abilities, there was also an unspoken rule against power-hungry assholes that wanted to use the fame of Achievement City to do horrible things. 

Gavin had once told Ray of a guy who'd been perfect for their crew and would have been accepted had it not become known to them he was associated with a gang notorious for its looting of desert villages. Geoff was not very tolerant of people messing with villagers especially if said villagers had children. 

It was stuff like that, which made them better than many other developed areas around the world. They were a city of eight residents but they were a city that didn't look to bother others or expand on territory. They were a group of friends who were very good at whatever they did and pooled together in order to create a powerhouse intent on protecting what was theirs and nothing more.

Heroes would go out and stop the bandits. They would travel around, helping others at every opportunity they had. They'd have special lairs or whatever. They did nothing like that. They were just a bunch of guys having fun.

So while Ray wouldn't formally call himself a hero, that didn't mean he didn't think doing the right thing was a bad idea. No, in fact he was very much for helping other people. Which is why no one should have been surprised by the plan that formed in his head after hearing those villagers

**.**

They were alone in the priest's kitchen (the priest having gone to do a final inspections of all the rebuilt houses), enjoying dinner when Ray decided to voice his suggestion.

“We should stay for another day,” Ray said.

The others looked up at him quickly, a mixture of surprise and confusion. 

“Why?” Gavin asked.

“Well.” Ray set down his plate. “These people have had problems with bandits and if our plan is to come back here on the way back, it's possible there won't _be_ a village when we get back. Look at what was left of their homes and that was only one attack.”

Gavin threw his hands up in the air and walked away from the table, grumbling. Ray rolled his eyes, he expected such a reaction from him but he wasn't sure what to expect from the others. Michael was biting his lip, brow furrowed in thought.

“You're assuming they'll let us help,” Dan began. “What if they don't? They barely trust us as it is. We weren't even allowed to help the blacksmith with his house.”

“They think we're heroes,” Ray replied. “At least the priest does.”

“But we're not,” Gavin said hotly stomping back into the room. “We're just... repaying a debt. That's it.”

“It wouldn't hurt to be owed a favor,” Ray said. “We could even establish trading for the rest of Achievement City.”

“Achievement City has never needed that.” Gavin crossed his arms. “We're self-sustaining and clearly a lot better—”

“Gavin, shut up.” Michael interrupted. “That's not why we should do it. Am I right Ray?”

Ray shrugged. “It just seems like it's a good idea.”

Michael nodded. “Geoff would probably agree too. And Jack too, he'd probably start crying over the destroyed homes.”

Gavin sighed in defeat. “Fine. Whatever.” 

**. . .**

Convincing the villagers they were eager to help wasn't exactly easy however. While the priest was all for it, some of the others were far from accepting.

“We don't know you quite well enough,” the blacksmith said. “You're good workers and obviously mean well but we have no idea where you come from.”

After a rather short discussion on the topic, they were told to retreat to their rooms for the night, along with the promise that they were allowed to leave tomorrow along with their weapons.

“Well we tried.” Gavin said as soon as they were alone in the priest's home. He clapped his hands together. “Better make sure we're all packed for tomorrow.”

“How can they not know about Achievement City?” Michael asked, moving to settle on a bed. “Every village knows about Achievement City.”

“Well clearly not them.” Ray muttered. “It was worth a shot, I guess.”

Michael stared at him. “You're giving up that easy?”

“What else can we do?” Ray asked, frustration clear in his voice. “We can't force our help on them.”

“They definitely deserve what's coming to them when those bandits come back,” Gavin said. “Idiots.”

“No, they don't.” Dan said quietly from his bed in the far corner. “They're probably scared.”

Ray sighed and slipped off his glasses. Dan was probably right. All the damage they'd seen today was definitely not done over the course of one day. It had to have taken a considerable amount of people to do that kind of damage or people with access to cause that much. Either way, it had been enough to terrify the villagers and he couldn't blame them.

He sighed and turned over in bed, ignoring the looks Michael kept shooting at him. Gavin was right. They had tried.

**. . .**

The next morning the priest led the way to the blacksmith's home where they were finally reunited with their weapons. Ray watched as Michael swung Mogar carefully, testing it for any damage. Gavin took his bow and arrows and Ray was surprised to see—

“You've enchanted them!” Gavin said in surprise.

“It was the least we could do,” the priest replied. “There wasn't enough time to do any of the others but if you'd like you can choose from our selection.”

Michael refused to give up his own sword but accepted a Bottle o' Enchanting. Ray and Dan chose new swords, picking them at random when they were assured they all had the same enchantment of Smite. The new sword seemed to vibrate with energy, glowing purple faintly when he swung it.

“This is awesome,” Ray said in awe.

As they stepped out of the house, they headed to the librarian's house next where they were given copies of the maps the priest had lent to them the first night. After making sure of the direction they should head in, they were led to the far edge of the village. 

The priest bowed. “Thank you for helping us.”

“No problem,” Michael said.

“We wish you—” 

Before the priest could finish something exploded behind them quickly followed by a series of further explosions.

Ray took one look at the panicked looks on the priest and librarian's faces before taking after the blacksmith who had already turned back. He didn't even bother to see if the others were behind him but from the sounds of it, at least one of them was.

Weaving between buildings Ray almost made it to the village square when a hand grabbed him by the cloak and hauled him back around the corner of a house.

“What the—?”

The person's other hand came up to cover his mouth, effectively cutting off his question. He turned, surprised yet glad to see Dan standing there. Cautiously Dan let him go but not without raising a finger to his mouth. “Let's find out what's going on first.”

Ray nodded and looked around him to see both Michael and Gavin not far behind him. He raised his hand and they slowed down a little. Ray turned and peered around the corner. He squinted as the dust clouds began to clear to reveal a group of six standing around, wolves growling at their sides, dynamite, potions, or swords in their hands.

“Holy fuck,” Michael said in a whisper as he came up behind them. “These villagers don't stand a chance.”

“Neither do we.” Gavin added. “We can probably get out of here if we run.”

Ray raised his sword up and looked at it before glancing at Dan, standing still beside him. “Well. Guess this is a good chance to try these out.” He grinned, raising his sword. “I mean, you only live once, right?”

Without waiting for a response, Ray stepped out onto the square.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In retrospect Ray decided that it was possibly not his best decision.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahhhh this is late again. Well I explained in a tumblr post last week's update wasn't happening due to writers block but I wanted to get this week on time. Guess that didn't happen. So as an apology there are two updates. Yay! 
> 
> I'd just like to clarify before you move onto the fic that yes, I am aware priests don't actually trade potions of regeneration. Let's pretend for the sake of the fic that they do. And whoops, that's a spoiler for you. Oh well.
> 
> Also I just want to mention that these two chapters were written while I was listening to "[Love You to Pieces](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fAItpDST3CM)" by Jeremy Messersmith. It helped with the mood so much. However idk how well that translates into fic. Whatever.
> 
> Read @ [LJ](http://sandedletters.livejournal.com/14162.html)

“We owe you our lives,” the priest said.

Ray winced as the villager poured water over his leg. His pants were in a corner, being mended by a young child; his needle making fast work of the rips in the fabric. The sharp pang he felt in his leg brought his attention back to the priest who was currently pouring a bottle of fuchsia liquid over the wound.

The priest smiled apologetically. “It will only hurt for a moment.”

Ray was surprised to find that the priest was right. The pain was fading away along with—

“It's closing up.” Ray said in awe. He looked at the bottle in the priest's hand. “What is that?”

“Potion of regeneration. It'll repair most of the cut but it'll take some time.” the priest replied. He placed the cap on the bottle and returned to his bag of supplies. “Now, I insist you and your friends stay for another night to rest up and finish healing.”

“Well I think I should ask them if they're okay with that.” Ray shrugged. “Where are they?”

“In the next room.”

Ray leaned over to look around the priest and catch a glimpse of his friends. Gavin was sporting a nasty bruise on his cheek and several cuts which were being attended to by one of the villagers. Not far from him was Michael, bandaging his own hand and grumbling at the villagers hovering around him. Dan, already patched up and looking nonplussed about his injuries, was hauling medical supplies around as directed. He looked up, caught Ray's eye, and nodded at him. Ray gave him a weak salute before returning his attention to the priest.

“Just wait a few more moments before you get up.” The priest said finally moving to stand. “Your wound needs more time to completely close. Here,” the priest held out a cup. “Drink this.”

“What is it?” Ray asked.

“Milk,” the priest replied breezily. “I'll have someone come by with food for you.”

With that the priest strode out of the room, robes sweeping across the wooden floors. Ray sat back on the bed and glanced out the window. Smoke was still rising from buildings and quite a few were still on fire. The villagers however were doing a good job of putting those out and were even starting the reconstruction of their homes (quick makeshift shelters probably to stay safe from the monsters which would spawn in the barely lit village over the course of the night). 

Children were scurrying back and forth, carrying what they could. A few were bruised and bandaged but nothing too serious from the looks of it. Many of the older villagers however weren't quite as lucky and Ray could see them making their way to the priest's home for medical attention at a steady pace. He shook his head. At least they'd managed to get those assholes out of here. 

It hadn't been easy but somehow, through the knowledge of the village they had helped rebuild, Ray and the others came up with a plan which only came into existence by courtesy of Dan who was the only one thinking ahead of Ray's hasty entrance. They had cut the bandits off from their wolves, taking the animals out through their combined efforts. Then later came dealing with the bandits whom without the rabid dogs at their side were pretty easy to get rid of.

Still, that didn't stop the others from voicing their thoughts over the idiocy of him running headfirst into the fray without a plan. Gavin was the most vocal of the group, screaming something about how they were going to get themselves killed and it would all be Ray's fault.

In retrospect Ray decided that it was possibly not his best decision. He had stood in front of the group of bandits with nothing but a sword (even an enchanted one wouldn't have done much good against all those wolves) and possibly a couple of arrows for his bow. If the others hadn't come to back him up, well... Ray stared down at the slowly closing wound on his upper thigh from where a dagger had cut a little too deep into his skin. Yeah, it could have been much worse.

**. . .**

Sometime between waiting for his pants and watching the villagers outside, Ray had dozed off. He jerked awake to the sounds of an axe hitting wood. He sat up and noticed that during his impromptu nap someone had come by to take off his glasses and throw a blanket over him. He was also missing his shirt... Huh. He scrubbed his eyes. How long had he been asleep for?

“About a day.”

Had he spoken aloud?

“Yeah you did.”

Ray blinked and looked up. Michael was sitting in a chair nearby and he seemed to be picking at the bandages on his hand. Ray couldn't tell without his glasses. Speaking of which...

Michael held up the item in question and Ray reached out for them. “Seriously? That long?”

“Yeah,” Michael said. “The others and I decided we should stay for a couple days. You need to rest. Especially after that stunt you pulled.”

He pushed his frames on and scratched his head before taking a good look at his friend. Micheal looked like shit. During their scuffle with the bandits, just a little after Ray had taken his own near-fatal injury, Michael had come to help him to safety. He and Michael were making their way out of the battle when Mogar was knocked out of his hand. A bandit had followed them, and the only way to stop his attack had been to reach out and manhandle the dagger out of his hand with the one currently unoccupied in keeping Ray up. Ray had helped too by sticking an arrow into the thigh of the bandit but that clearly wasn't enough to stop the dagger from cutting open Michael's hand.

So while Ray had the excuse of almost bleeding to death, Michael only had a sliced hand to deal with, which (as much as it sucked) didn't explain his state. It looked as if he hadn't slept at all and given that his clothes hadn't changed, Ray was inclined to believe that he might not have.

“You all right?” Ray asked, moving to sit up.

“Am I all right?” Michael echoed. “Are you all right? You were bleeding everywhere and you couldn't walk... Jesus Ray, were you trying to get yourself killed?” 

“No.” He said finally. “I was just... angry I guess? I don't know. I wasn't thinking.”

Michael sighed and sat back in his chair. “Tell me about it. Man, that was...”

“Stupid?” Ray guessed.

Michael shrugged. “I was going to say suicidal but whatever.”

Ray bit his lip and looked down at his leg. It still stung a little but really, it wasn't all that bad. If Ray counted all the other times he'd gotten hurt, this wouldn't even be the worst. Somehow it was okay if Michael got hurt, taking all necessary measures to keep his friends alive, even at the cost of his own health but if Ray did it, then that was a suicidal attempt. He shook his head and tuned Michael back in. He looked a little calmer now, the tightness easing out of his shoulders.

“Gavin's pretty pissed by the way.” Michael said. “Keeps bitching about how we should have just left the village in the first place and whatever. He's complaining to Dan about it.”

Ray stared. That... was new. “They're talking? Like, actually talking, talking?”

“Yeah.” Michael looked down at his fingers with intense scrutiny. “It's like... something's finally turned on in that brain of his. It's sort of... weird.”

“Maybe he's starting to remember on his own?” Ray asked, tentative.

“I don't know. That's... not supposed to happen. Right? I mean, am I wrong here or is there something I'm missing? Every time I ask, Gavin doesn't want to talk about it. Dan's shitting rainbows because it looks like he finally got his best friend back or something even though in reality, I don't think that's the case because Dan looks really confused about the whole thing too so... fuck. I don't get it.”

Michael picked at his bandages again. He looked so confused and a confused Michael was definitely not a happy Michael. Ray made a face at the silence that settled around them. There was a beat then—

“So... you wanna talk about it?” Ray asked.

Michael snorted and rolled his eyes. “Shut up.”

**.**

It wasn't long before the priest came back to check on him. “The wound still needs some time to fully heal but you can feel free to get up and walk around for a bit. You might still be sore.”

Ray nodded and waved the priest off. There were plenty of other people that needed to be attended. He looked over in the corner where the child had been mending his pants. While the child was gone, his pants were now folded neatly on the table nearby. He wiggled over to it from his bed and reached over for them. After a few unsuccessful snatches at air, he finally closed onto the item and tugged them onto the bed beside him. Maneuvering himself out of the bed, he began to pull them on, without a second thought to his wound. 

He hissed a little and paused mid-pull when pain shot up his leg. He pulled his pants away and stared down. While the wound had closed up, the skin was still pink and raw and had begun to bleed from the fabric running over it. Ray grimaced and gingerly pulled the clothing back off. He looked around and spotted a small roll of bandages on a table across the room.

He could probably put on a layer over the wound just to keep it from chafing. He stood and winced when his muscles contracted unpleasantly against the strain. The priest hadn't mentioned how weak his leg would be. Ray leaned over to one side, trying to shift his weight onto his good leg, then proceeded to limp in the direction of the table. He grinned in triumph when he reached his goal and was already turning around to head back to the bed when a voice spoke.

“Shouldn't you be resting?”

Ray jumped and swerved around to look at the doorway. Dan was standing there with a raised brow in his direction and holding two plates of food. Ray was suddenly aware of the fact that he still didn't have any pants on and while his boxers were doing a fantastic job of hiding the family jewels, that still didn't do much in terms of preserving his dignity upon being found in nothing but the piece of clothing (seeing as how he still had yet to find his shirt).

“Um.” He said nervously. “Well... this is awkward.”

Dan's eyebrow climbed higher. “Michael mentioned you might make a break for it.”

“I was only trying to find my clothes,” Ray said, defensive.

“What are the bandages for then?”

“I was going to cover this up.” He pointed to his wound. “It burns.”

Dan nodded and then moved to set the plates on the table. He held a hand out. “Let me.”

Blinking, Ray eyed the hand, warily. “You don't have to. I can do it myself.”

“Don't be stubborn, mate.” Dan moved and grabbed the bandages from him before Ray could even protest. “I've done this sort of thing loads of times.”

Ray sighed and limped back over to the bed, self-conscious of his body as he sat down gingerly on the edge of the bed. He felt his cheeks begin to heat up a little. This was ridiculous. He would never act this way if it were Gavin or Michael. They'd seen him in a similar state of undress before. He pulled his pants over to him, and threw them around his waist, in what he hoped was a nonchalant manner. It was probably a useless attempt to cover his decency but Dan made no comment. 

Instead he looked around the room for a moment before grabbing hold of a small knife, a basin of water and a piece of cloth. He pulled up a chair close to the bed and a small bench on which to place the other items. He dipped the cloth into water and wrung it before reaching over to dab away at the blood, gingerly touching the wound to clean it further.

He tapped on Ray's leg motioning for him to lift it, which he did, grudgingly. Dan pulled his chair closer and placed Ray's leg on the arm of it, while bringing his entire left torso in contact with Ray's lower leg. He tore of a piece of the roll and folded it up into a neat square which he placed over the wound. Ray hissed involuntarily.

“Sorry.” Dan said.

“Nah, it's okay.” Ray replied through clenched teeth. “Nothing I can't handle.”

Dan grinned and turned back to his leg. Peeling a corner of the bandages he slowly began to wrap it around the square. He paused and pressed a little into his leg, paying careful attention to the color of his skin.

“Have to make sure it isn't too tight.” Dan said by way of explanation. “Do more harm otherwise.”

Ray nodded and and swallowed a little. Dan's hands were calloused and warm as they held him still. It felt... nice.

When Dan was finally satisfied with the wrapping he reached over for the knife. He handed it over to Ray, expectantly. Ray took it, confused.

“Can't let go otherwise, it'll just loosen up.” Dan said gesturing to the bandage.

“Oh.” Ray looked down and maneuvered the knife into place, placing it at in the middle of the taut fabric of the roll.

“No, a little further back,” Dan said, pointing with his one free hand. “Right there.”

As soon as the cut was made, Dan made Ray hold the bandage then reached for the knife again. He pulled at a loose piece nearest to his skin and cut across it, creating a thin strip which he used to wrap around to meet the other end Ray was holding. Dan created a simple knot then slipped the edges into the creases, smoothing down the dressing.

“There.” He said, moving back.

Quickly setting his leg back on the ground, Ray proceeded to pull his pants on once more. Gingerly pulling the cloth over the bandage so as to not disturb the wrapping, he was happy to finally feel some semblance of a barrier between him and Dan.

“Thanks,” Ray said.

Dan shrugged and moved the small bench away before retrieving the plates of food. “Here.”

Ray eagerly reached for the food, realizing that he was in fact hungry. He hadn't eaten since... had it really been two days ago? He and Dan ate in silence for a few minutes before Ray decided to ask:

“Where's Michael and Gavin?”

Dan paused chewing then swallowed deliberately. “Not sure. They needed to talk or something.”

“Those two always have to talk,” Ray rolled his eyes. “Do you know what it was about?”

Dan shook his head. “Gavin was worried though.”

“About what?”

“You.” Dan set his plate down carefully. “He said something about how you and Michael are always doing 'stuff' like this. Showing off by being the hero—”

“I am not trying to be a hero,” Ray cut in. “I just... It was stupid, I get that. But if I hadn't gone in, then the others wouldn't have done anything. Well, Micheal probably would have helped but I didn't think...” Ray stopped, averting his eyes. “Never mind.”

“You didn't think I'd help?” Dan asked.

“Well,” Ray played with the remnants of his chicken. “I don't really know you.”

Dan was quiet then he stood up. “Yeah, I guess so.”

Ray expected for Dan to slam the door a little but he didn't. Instead he closed it gently behind him. The quietness of the action made him wilt a little. “Way to go Ray.”


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “It's not what it looks like.” Ray raised his hands. “I swear.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Annndddd the next chapter! Arguments are had, blood is spilled and somehow things get resolved. Might write another sidefic of a particular scene that gets pushed aside but I'm not sure yet. We shall see.
> 
> Read @ [LJ](http://sandedletters.livejournal.com/14416.html)

Gavin came to visit him later that night. 

When he had heard the knock at the door, he had rather hoped it was someone else. Someone he was hoping to apologize to. And while he wasn't totally disappointed to see Gavin standing in his doorway, that didn't mean he was surprised.

Just... startled. His reaction must have looked comical to Gavin because he started to giggle. He had a pillow and an extra blanket in his hands. “I convinced the priest to put something in Michael's food so he could sleep.” Gavin explained. “So now you've got me for tonight!”

“Michael's going to be pissed.” Ray said, shaking his head, gesturing for his friend to come in.

“Well, he said we'd take turns last night watching over you but then he just let me sleep!” Gavin made a face. “Selfish pleb.”

“Pleb?” Ray asked with a grin as he sat back down.

“What?” Gavin was arranging the furniture around the chair. “Damn, should have brought another blanket.”

“Just take the bed,” Ray said. “I slept too much anyway.”

“No!” Gavin said forcefully. “You need sleep. Sleep and rest because you... You are an idiot.” 

A confused silence followed and Ray narrowed his eyes slightly. Gavin was standing still as he stared down at his makeshift bed. Was he still...? Ray shook his head.

“Gavin...” Ray began. “I'm fine. Besides it all worked out.”

“That doesn't matter. You went in without a plan, like a stupid little git and, and—did you even think? They had wolves! Eight of them, at least. And you just... Ray...” Gavin's fists clenched tightly. “Can you please not do that again?”

Ray was taken aback. He had never seen Gavin this upset before. Usually whenever he was annoyed, it was because of silly things like Michael stealing his iron, or when Ray rearranged some of his art pieces in different places. His voice would get high-pitched and whiny and it was fun to hear him complain about whatever wrong was done to him.

This was different however. From his angle Ray could see that Gavin was frowning and the normal mischievous glint in his eye was replaced with something that looked close to rage. 

“What?” Ray asked. “Try not to die?”

Clearly that was the wrong thing to say because in the next moment Gavin was shaking with fury.

“Stop trying to do everything!” Gavin shouted, finally turning to him. “Yes you're good at everything. And yes nothing ever happens to you but damn it Ray, you got hurt, and you couldn't move and if Michael hadn't gotten to you then, then...” Gavin took a steadying breath. “You're my friend and if you got hurt because of me—”

“This wasn't because of you,” Ray cut in. “I decided to go in—”

“Yes, but the only reason you did that was because you were here in the first place and if you had just stayed home you wouldn't be—”

“Shut up,” Ray interrupted. “We are not going down that road where each of us tries to take the blame. Can we just, forget it?”

“Not until, you promise.” Gavin said stubbornly.

“Man, you are...” Ray trailed off with a sigh. There was really nothing else he could say without setting Gavin off. The poor guy looked upset. He nodded, warily. “Look, I'll try.”

Gavin set his jaw and crossed his arms. “Not good enough.”

Ray rolled his eyes and threw his hands up in the arm. “Fine! I promise I won't do something stupid and instead we'll plan like a team or whatever and maybe Michael will make cookies and I'll make you a crown of flowers. There, happy?”

Gavin looked dubious but then he smiled a little. “Can it be a crown of roses?”

“Fuck no,” Ray replied shaking his head. “You're getting daisies, I'll get a crown of roses.”

Gavin pouted. “Aww, no fair.” 

**. . .**

The next time Ray awoke he found himself snuggling into a warm body. There was a scent of copper in the air and as he turned over, trying to identify it, he saw stream of light shine onto his face. He groaned and flapped around for a blanket to pull over his head.

When he couldn't find one, he squinted looking around, before he realized that it was currently wrapped in a bundle around the person he'd been cuddling. Said person mumbled before moving to turn toward him.

“Gavin?” Ray asked. He looked down at himself and his eyes widened. “Oh fuck. Where are my clothes?”

“Whasit?” Gavin was blinking awake.

“We didn't.” Ray said, voice raising to a shrill. “No. We didn't. Right? Tell me you and I—oh god Michael's going to kill me.”

“What are you on about?” Gavin sat up and Ray noticed he was missing his shirt too.

“Oh fuck. Gavin, did you get me drunk? Oh god, you put something in my food didn't you?”

“Calm down!” Gavin scrubbed his eyes. “It was only to make you sleep. And we didn't do anything. God, what time is it?”

Ray sagged in relief and then glanced at the clock. “A little after dawn.”

“Ugh,” Gavin flopped back down onto the bed. “I'm going back to sleep then.”

Ray took a deep breath and noticed the coppery scent he'd smelled before was still there. He looked down, squinting before reaching over to the table for his glasses. Once on, he finally noticed the stain on the blanket currently wrapped around his friend. “Gavin...” Ray reached out. “You're bleeding.”

“Must have pulled off the bandage in my sleep or something.” Gavin wriggled his arm back under the blankets. “ 's fine. Let me sleep.”

Ray frowned and after a brief struggle with a sleepy Gavin he managed to pull his arm back out to inspect his skin which was now aflame and bleeding profusely.

“The fuck is that?” Ray scrambled out of the bed. “Jesus Gavin did you scratch yourself too?”

“What?”

Ray moved around the room, cursing when the basin of water that'd been there last night was suddenly gone. “I'll get the priest. He should have bandages right?”

Gavin sat up. “Ray. Stop. Wait. Just get me my bag.”

“Do you have bandages in there?” He moved to the bag lying by the door and began to rifle through it, looking for the cloth in question. “I should go get water too. Wait here I'll—”

“Ray,” Gavin cut in. “Just give me my bag.”

The tone in Gavin's voice brought him up short. He sounded firm and sure. Frowning, Ray did as he was told and waited as Gavin moved through the items before producing a bottle. It was pink.

“Is that...?”

“Potion of regeneration.” Gavin nodded with a grimace. “Yeah. One of those bandits had potions as well. Poison. Been working it out of my system for the past couple days but I ran out. Had to ask the priest for another one. Must have forgotten to take it last night.” He uncorked the bottle and took a gulp from it. “See?” The wound slowly began to close. “Good as new.”

Ray was quiet for only a moment before he asked. “You were poisoned?”

“Yeah.”

“By a bandit?”

“Yeah.”

“When were you going to tell me?” Ray asked. “Man, you—you are a... wily one.”

Gavin's face scrunched up in confusion. “Did you just call me 'wily'?”

“Yeah, I think he did.”

Ray looked up and froze. Michael was standing in the doorway, holding a plate of cookies in his hand and wearing a worryingly neutral expression on his face. It took Ray a moment before he realized he was still currently semi-naked as was Gavin who was sitting in a pile of sheets with rumpled hair.

“It's not what it looks like.” Ray raised his hands. “I swear.”

**.**

“You should have seen the look on your face,” Michael laughed.

“He was cacking his pants wasn't he?” Gavin giggled.

“You two are the worst,” Ray announced. “And you like boys. Both of you.”

“Wow.” Michael put a hand up to his heart. “I'm hurt. Right here Ray, it hurts.”

“Yeah, fuck off.”

Ray shook his head and pulled his shirt over his head. He eyed his friends in the corner who were still cackling on the bed, and were now flicking cookie crumbs at each other. At least they weren't angry or worried anymore. Michael looked rested (either he wasn't aware that Gavin had slipped him something or he was just choosing not to talk about it) and the bandage on his hand had been replaced by a smaller one which meant either the priest worked some potion into him or maybe— 

Ray looked over at Gavin and his potion and suddenly grinned. Yeah. Definitely wily.

**. . .**

By noon Ray had to insist to the priest that he was fine. The potion had done its work and the bandage Dan had put on the night before was definitely unnecessary by now, given how well the cut had healed. Speaking of which...

“Where's Dan?” He asked, turning to Gavin.

“Dunno,” Gavin shrugged. “Haven't seen him since...” He frowned. “Huh. He wasn't at dinner last night so since breakfast yesterday?”

“I saw him at lunch,” Michael supplied.

“He brought me dinner,” Ray nodded.

“He brought you dinner?” Gavin echoed, incredulous. “What? When was that?”

“Last night,” Ray replied. “So he's been gone all morning or since last night.”

“Your friend has been reconstructing houses.” The blacksmith walked in, wiping his forehead. “He's a good worker by the way. Been a real help.”

“Huh.” Ray nodded a little in confusion. “Has he had lunch then?”

“The town's having a picnic in the square. He should be there since the farmers were dragging him there, the last time I saw him.”

**.**

“Look!” Gavin pulled on Michael's arm. “They've got steak and cooked fish and oooh, they've got porkchops too.”

Ray shook his head and watched as the other two walked off in the direction of the food. The blacksmith hadn't exactly been right about the picnic. It looked like a small fair had come to the village. There were tables lined up with food and a group of children were running in and out of the crowd chasing after a chicken. All the square needed was streamers and a few game stalls before it looked like a proper festival.

But that wasn't why Ray was here. He looked around trying to spot Dan. He owed the poor guy an apology after last night. 

He weaved through the crowd (it was surprising to see the number of people around because hadn't half the town been under siege just three days ago?), looking for the familiar head of black hair. When he couldn't find him, he asked the farmers and they enlisted in the hunt for Dan.

However since most of them were drunk, they weren't of much help. After an hour or so of walking down paths and coming up with nothing, Ray headed for the edge of the village, yearning for a little peace and quiet from the ruckus of the square.

He should have known to find Dan there. The slightly taller man was leaning on a fence, staring out into the horizon with a hoe propped up beside him. Ray walked towards him, and stood a little behind him. He looked out as well and his jaw dropped slightly at the large fields of growing wheat.

“Did you help with this?” Ray blurted out.

Dan started and looked over at him in surprise. He nodded, a little jerky in his movements as he moved to stand a little straighter. “Yeah. I wanted to help.”

Ray moved forward to inspect the field further. There were steady channels of water running through the farms. No, Ray squinted. They weren't running. It was still water. “How many buckets of water did that take?”

Dan laughed sheepishly. “A lot.”

**.**

By the time they made it back to the village, dusk was already upon them and the “picnic” had been moved indoors. Most of the people had converged in the priest's home which was by far, still the largest building and the most intact.

Ray maneuvered his way through the people, ignoring the calls of Gavin and Michael who were on the other side of the room, drinking with the farmers. He quickly made his way up the stairs and shut himself in his room. What he didn't expect was for Dan to show up not much later, balancing two plates of food and drinks.

Moving quickly to help relieve him, he set the plates on the table and unable to help himself, grimaced at the cups. “I don't—”

“—drink,” Dan finished. “Yeah, Gav told me. I brought you some water.”

Slightly touched by the thought and a little confused that Gavin was still sober enough to give out correct information, Ray helped himself to a plate and began to eat. He'd worked himself quite an appetite while looking for Dan.

Oh. Right. He hadn't apologized yet. He swallowed a large bite of food. “Hey, Dan. Um. Look about what I said last night... I was an ass. I didn't mean it. Well I did mean it before but not now.” Ray fought the urge to smack his forehead but trudged on. “I know everyone's been treating you like a stranger and Michael gave you shit before so me doing that too must have sucked. What I'm trying to say is—”

“It's all right,” Dan cut in. “It's fine.”

Ray eyed the man sitting across from him. He was a little hunched over and his hands were clasped around his plate but he was smiling.

“Yeah?”

Dan nodded. “Yeah, it's fine.”


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They would probably be more than halfway there by the end of the week.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fuck this took for-fucking-ever. This was honestly the most difficult chapter to write ever. And then this was supposed to go up last night but my wifi was being a dick (it still is, the fucker). And yes I realize it's been like a month since I updated, I apologize. I've been busy writing/plotting for the Mavin Fic Bang which I'm quite excited about. Even put my other project on hold for the bang.
> 
> Be sure to read the side fics that went up along with this update. You can find a Michael/Gavin centric one [here](http://archiveofourown.org/works/899262), a Ray respawn backstory that's Michael centric over [there](http://archiveofourown.org/works/899250), and finally a Geoff and Gavin backstory over [yonder](http://archiveofourown.org/works/899267). Those were fun to write. Not this chapter. Ugh. Hopefully the next chapter won't be too difficult. They've also been included into the series in the order they could be read but really you can read it in any order.
> 
> Read @ [LJ](http://sandedletters.livejournal.com/14611.html).

While Ray was a little sad over trading in a proper bed for a sleeping bag out in the middle of no where, he was glad they were on their way again. The village had been ready to keep the party going for at least another week and while it had been tempting to stay they did have somewhere to go.

It hadn't been easy though, reminding the others that they needed to get going. After that first day of celebration the villagers had kept on going as soon as day broke and somehow they'd managed to get more people and food. Ray had been quite confused about how the number of villagers had multiplied overnight but he wasn't one to pry. Villagers had their ways.

As the second day of the celebration began Ray found Michael and Gavin once again, swept up in the festivities, drinking, eating, and laughing alongside the people they'd saved. Ray hung around for a bit but he retreated to his room fairly quick. It was where he'd found Dan, looking out over the village, with a grimace.

And although it was a rather undiscussed topic amongst them, mentioning Gavin's experience orbs were what finally had them moving.

“Oh,” Gavin said, quietly. “Right.”

Ray still winced at the memory of Dan's guilty face afterward. That had definitely not been easy. Still it seemed as if Gavin had gotten over it. He was ahead of them chatting away, commenting about the differences between Achievementburg and the village.

“When we first found Achievementburg, there were so many zombies and creepers. Jack found five of them huddled around a corner and it blew away at least half of a house!” Gavin shook his head. “No wonder it was abandoned. I don't know how anyone could live there.”

Ray shook his head a little. He remembered that night. Unlike the others who each found a large house to fortify themselves into, Ray had made the mistake in running into what could only be called a shed. It had been so tiny with the one table taking up half the space leaving absolutely no room for a bed. Still, it'd done the job and he managed to survive the night with the others. 

He glanced down at the map in his hand. They were still continuing with their original plan of crossing through the desert and plains biomes with only a minor alteration in that they were sticking closer to the wooden and jungle biomes. These biomes were further away from Slow-mo-vile and would put an extra couple days on their journey but it was unanimously decided that it was better they stay closer to trees they knew were actually there rather than chase after a forest that was probably gone.

They would probably be more than halfway there by the end of the week. If they could improve on their pace they would get even closer however, given how loaded they were with supplies (the villagers had been awful generous and were sad to see them go) that wasn't likely to happen.

Ray sighed and glanced up at the sky. The sun was high above them and Ray could tell that their idea to skirt the edge of the desert, where they could duck under the shades of trees, was the best idea they had in a while. The sun was too much for them but not for Gavin apparently. He kept his steps light and even—as if his bag were carrying nothing but feathers—and his mouth was running, switching between topics quickly. His conversation was mostly directed toward Dan.

“Geoff tells me he found me in the woods when I came to Achievement City. I always wonder about that since I always thought a little wander through the woods would be nice. Did I wander around Slow-mo-ville?” Gavin looked at the woods with interest. “Does Slow-mo-ville have trees?”

Ray looked at Dan out of the corner of his eye, curious to hear his answer. Dan's eyes were on the ground, his mouth set in a grim line.

“You used to go into caves,” Dan replied, a little quiet. “We had to travel to a forest on the edge of the biome to get saplings for trees. There was mostly cacti around.”

“Oh.” Up ahead Gavin made a thoughtful noise and turned away from the trees. “Well that would explain why I made Geoff help me make a cacti farm. I mean we don't really need it for anything.” Gavin suddenly shrugged. “What about art? Are there any nice pieces at Slow-mo?”

“No.” Dan gripped his sword handle so hard Ray actually winced. “There are books though.”

“Books?” Gavin echoed, perplexed. “Huh. Must be nice to have bookshelves. I don't think there's any books in Achievement City. We've got lot's of animals though. Ryan is an animal whisperer or something. It's crazy. Do we have any animals at Slow-mo?”

“No,” Dan said. “You can see the ocean though.”

“Really?” Gavin suddenly turned around, eyes wide. “Oh that's brilliant. I've never seen the ocean. Well I mean obviously I have but I don't remember. That's exciting. Ray, have you ever seen the ocean?”

Ray, who had been too busy looking at Dan, was startled. “What?”

“The ocean, you donut.” Gavin rolled his eyes. “Have you ever seen it?”

“Uh,” Ray blinked. “Yeah my village was by a bay that led to an ocean. I didn't visit much.”

“It'll be nice that we'll all get to see it then.” Gavin turned back around.

**. . .**

It wasn't long before they finally decided to make camp. They had a couple hours before the sun finally set but they needed the rest. Gavin set off with Dan towards the trees to collect some wood for their torches. Michael and Ray were left to finish setting up camp. Sleeping bags were unrolled and placed neatly around their fire. Ray took the food out of his bag and began to distribute portions into bowls. There was plenty to go around and they probably wouldn't have to hunt for food for the next week or so.

Without looking up Ray held out a bowl for Michael. When he'd been holding it for a solid minute he looked up and noticed the grim expression on his friend's face. Tilting his head a little, Ray waved the bowl in Michael's line of vision.

“Hey buddy?” Ray asked. “You okay?”

Michael shook his head a little and grabbed the bowl from Ray's grasp. “Yeah, I'm fine. Just, tired I guess.”

“You sure?” Ray frowned. “You don't look too good.”

“I said I'm fine Ray.” Michael rolled his eyes and picked at his food.

“All right,” Ray set the food aside for a moment and stared up at the sky peaking through the branches above them. “I don't blame you for being tired. Man, it was hot today. Was it that hot when we first started out?”

“Don't remember.”

“Gavin didn't seem bothered by it though, did he?” Ray sat back on his sleeping bag. “Dan seemed okay too. Think it has something to do with Slow—?”

“I swear to fucking God if I hear the name of that stupid place again, I will hurt someone.” Michael bit out.

Ray closed his mouth carefully. “Okay.”

Michael sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “Sorry. That wasn't—I didn't mean to say that out loud. It's just Gavin kept talking about it and it got really fucking annoying. Comparing Achievement City to that dump, as if it could ever compare.”

“Well I think he was just making conversation—”

“Yeah, with Dan.” Michael rolled his eyes. “I know. But even I could tell that the guy was uncomfortable.”

“You noticed too?” Ray was surprised. Although Michael hadn't displayed as much hostility towards Dan as before, Michael wasn't exactly kind either.

“I'm not completely blind.” Michael huffed a little in annoyance. “Man, talk about awkward.”

“Yeah,” Ray shook his head a little. “And Gavin had no idea either.”

“That's because he's an idiot and he never notices anything.” Michael crossed his arms. “Stupid idiot.”

“Yeah, I guess.”

“I mean would it kill him to think of other people for once?” Michael grumbled.

Ray narrowed his eyes slightly. “You sure you're okay? You sound like—”

Michael glared. “I said I'm fine.”

Raising his hands in mock surrender Ray turned once more to the food. He prepared Gavin's and Dan's portions and moved to place them by their bags. He got up and stretched, looking through the trees before turning to Michael firmly.

Ray crossed his arms. “Did you and Gavin break up or something?”

“Jesus Christ,” Michael covered his face with his hands. “No. We didn't break up. We're not even—look, I'm just... tired and annoyed. The heat is doing things to my head or something. Okay?”

“Okay.” Ray shrugged and reached over to pat his friend on the head.

“Stop that.” Michael shoved at Ray's hand. “I'm not a child.”

“No,” Ray grinned. “But you're still Gavin's boy.”

“Shut up.”

**.**

By the time Gavin and Dan got back both Michael and Ray were finished with their meals. Michael looked up at Gavin who averted his eyes and sat down next to Ray. Dan kept his gaze on the fire and ate his food in silence.

Raising his brows Ray turned to Michael who in turn, raised his own. Deciding it was better not look too into it Ray moved a little closer to Michael and they busied themselves with the wood the others had retrieved. Breaking the logs wasn't difficult and before long they had enough torches to light up the area around them.

When Ray got up to clean the plates, Gavin came with him. After leading him to the pond he and Dan came upon earlier, Gavin sat himself on a mound of dirt, plucking at the strings of his scarf. He opened his mouth but closed it when he noticed Ray's expectant look. With a brief shrug Ray kneeled by the pond, scooping just enough water to rinse the plates.

He kept an eye on Gavin and the nervousness emanating from his jiggling foot but otherwise made no comment. Instead he waited patiently for him to say something and was rewarded when Gavin bent down to help with the last plate.

“Dan thinks I'm with Michael.” Gavin said, quietly. “Silly right?”

Ray's head shot up. What the...?

He cleared his throat, trying to keep his tone deliberately casual. “And you aren't?”

“No!” Gavin cried out. He shut his mouth quickly and looked around. “I mean, we're just friends.”

“Right.” Ray nodded slowly. “Best friends.”

“Exactly.” Gavin agreed firmly. “That's all we are. I don't know where Dan got the idea that we'd be... anything else.”

“Of course.” Ray kept his face blank as he piled the bowls on top of each other. “What a silly idea. You and Michael are totally the best of bros.”

Ray resisted the urge to smack Gavin. The conversation he'd had with Michael was starting to make sense. But Ray had been so _sure_. And if Dan had assumed that then...? His friends were fucking dumb. There was no other explanation. Or maybe it was just Gavin who was an idiot. Ray sighed.

Gavin chewed his lip thoughtfully. “It would be nice though... I mean!” He laughed. “Just hypothetically speaking and all. It'd be nice to be with you as well. Sleeping with you was okay.”

“Yeah until you bled all over my sheets.”

“That was an accident!”


End file.
